'God put me on that road for a reason:' Nurse helped shot officer in North Carolina
BEAUVUE, North Carolina -- Authorities have made three arrests in connection with the shooting of a third-generation North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, and the heroic nurse who helped save him is speaking out.
Sherice Richardson was driving on Haynes Road near Beauvue on Monday night, headed to Rocky Mount to pick up her toddler, when she came across Trooper Daniel Harrell's car moments after he had been shot.
"God put me on that road for a reason at that time," she said. "I left the house at about 5:15, and I go on some country roads. I was going around the curve, passing blue lights, and so I slowed down some more. Then I got out of the car, that's when I seen the bullet holes in the windshield. I didn't know it at the time, but when I got to the car, he just had blood coming from his face. And I was like 'Oh my God, are you OK?' And all I could hear him say was 'I'm hit, I'm hit.' I was like, we need to give him help, so I called 911."
Luckily for Trooper Harrell, Richardson is a registered nurse.
"He had gauze in his car, so I instructed another bystander to put pressure on his face while I was on the phone with EMS," she said. "He was able to hold it himself, actually, and I sat there and comforted him."
Richardson waited until EMS arrived.
"It was weird," she said. "You're sitting here with someone that is supposed to protect you, and he's down but you've got to do something. I'm just thankful. I had him in my prayers. I'm just grateful he made it out so fast."
Harrell was released from the hospital earlier Wednesday. He was shot while conducting a traffic stop.
Wilson County Sheriff Calvin Woodard Jr. says 36-year-old John David Jones was arrested around midnight and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injuries and assault on a law enforcement officer.
Authorities also arrested 25-year-old Bryan Mullins and 40-year-old William Boswell, who are charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
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